by: Rick Johnson 
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
RikJohnson@juno.com
Contents
Winter Solstice
Summer Solstice
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Although much on this page isn't purely Gardnerian or even BTW, they are useful in that they may give you ideas on what to do to express your religion.
The ancient Druids (who were NOT Witches)
would go out every Yule to the sacred Oak trees. There, all dressed in white, they would
sacrifice a white virgin bull and one would climb into the tree to cut the mistletoe
growing there with a golden sickle. The mistletoe, called All-Heal, would then be caught
in a white cloth to prevent it from being profaned by contact with the earth.
Or so the legend goes.
Since Witches celebrate Yule and mistletoe is customary in America, I decided that
instead of buying the stuff, I'd go out and cut it myself. So every year on or before Yule,
I would colledt a few Witch friends and we would make a pilgrimage to the park where
misteletoe grew on a cottonwood tree (you have to drive an hour into the mountains to
find an oak tree here).
There we would lay a white cloth under the tree, climb into it and cut the mistle toe
with a gold-painted sickle (I had a hand-forged one but the local university pagan group
borrowed it an never returned the thing). And we would make an offering of food,
usually crackers, to the Tree as payment. Though I suspect that considering what
misteltoe was, the tree would have been glad to make an offering to us.
We would devide the mistletoe into two groups, take it home and tie it into
bunches with red cords and ribbons. The mistletoe that touched the ground would be
given to our Cowan friends, that from the cloth would be passed around the coven,
including a bunch over the Altar at the Sabbat.
One man tied a bunch to his belt buckle and so the custon was created of 'kissing'
under the mistletoe. Someof us even tied it over our beds.
Later, I began to send my daughters into the tree to cut it, thinking that this was a good
family excursion. And it had the added plus of me inventing the requirement that
mistletoe could only be cut by a virgin so she HAD to stay pure or ruin the Sabbat for all
of us.
Now remember, we are Gardnerians so we are naked in the Circle with a coven stuck
inside that same Circle also naked and packed in with these two naked lunatics swinging
three feet of steel at each other. The climax being when the 'Lord of the Dead' would
injure the 'Sun God' in His 'euphamism' while getting his eye knocked out. Real careful
strikes there.
Later I discovered that a Gardnerian Coven in Germany and on the east Coast also had
similar ideas though they used Shinai in the ritual and the fight was short and simple.
Notice a few things in the photos...
We know that at the Summer Solstice, the Horned
God (in His aspect of the Sun God) weakens until He dies in the Fall and is reborn at
Yule. And there are legends in the Arthurian Saga that describe how the king was
wounded in his 'euphamism' and so, as he could no longer have sex, the land weakened as
well until Winter set in.
To us, this seemed to explain why the HighPriestand Horned God in ancient Craft
history, unlike the Goddess who could age, He always had to be young and virile. So we
took the myth of the weakening King and combined it with the legend of the God who
meets with His darker side on the Solstice and created a divine play where the Horned
God as the Sun God is challanged for the rule of the year by His other aspect of the Lord
of the Dead.
I actually have it all written out and will post it later
Our problem was how to cooreograph this myth
into a Divine Play that could be performed at the Litha Sabbat. Eventually we had the
solution. I, being experienced with swords (I collect them studied Fencing in college,
was SCA and practiced Kendo) would inteview each male in the coven to see who
wanted to play the Lord of the Dead and who was willing to learn to sword fight.
Then we would practice until we settled on one person who would be trained over
the weeks to use a sword. We would start out with Shinai (bamboo Kendo practice
swords) and as confidence and skill increased, we reduced the size of the practice area
until we were fighting in the area of a Craft Circle. We would carefully cooreograph the
fight to prevent injury to ourselves or others in the Circle and eventually reherse at night
with steel swords until we were ready.
And my wife-HPS made certain to tell the other person that he is only sopposed to
"appear" to strike the genitals. If he actually injures said anatomy, he would be dealing
with her.
One Eclectic coven in Town does a similar thing at Yule but they use toy plastic
swords. We figure that if we are going to to something, we mayas well dedicate
ourselves to doing it right. No wousses in our coven.
1) My opponent at this practice session has no face. This is in keeping with my
policy of not "outing" someone without permission so I covered his identity to protect
him.
2) Notice the stance. Balance. Control. Personally, I am very happy with picture
#2 as it shows a good balance stance with the back straight and excellent extension. Plus
I made a good clean strike on the hand there.
3) Notice that we practice without protection and the same applies when we fight
with steel while naked in circle. If you can't develop the necessary control of mind and
body, then you aren't studying the Craft and your psychic lessons very well.
Or maybe that is why we only do the Symbolic Great Rite?
4)And finally, notice my white socks? ;-) That proves that I am a nerd. You just can't see my pocket protector in these photos...
To contact me or to request topics to be covered, send to RikJohnson@juno.com
by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
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